Improvement in hay-rakes



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

L. A. O. BROWN, OF SPABTA, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT I N HAvmaKes.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 18,731, dated December 1, 1857.

To all whom t 'may concer/n..-

Be it known that I, L. A. (j. BROWN, ot Sparta, in the county ot' Randolph and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hay-Rakes for Baking Hay; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the saine, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specitication, in which- Figure l is a side view ot' my improvement. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of the same.

Similar'letters of reference indicate corresponding' parts in the two figures.

This invention consists in a novel arrangement ot' the rake-head, whereby the sante may be elevated at proper intervals to discharge its load through the agency ot' one ot' the wheels of the machine, as hereinafter shownl To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A is au axle, and B B are wheels placed loosely on it-one at each end.

G O are thills, which are attached to the axle A.

D is a bar, which is provided with two hooks, a. a., said hooks fitting in eyes b b, which are attached to a cross-piece, E, ofthe thills C C. The hooks a a are allowed to turn freely in the eyes b b, and to the bar D rake-teeth c are attached. These teeth may he constructed ot' wire, coiled at their ends, as usual; or other form of teeth may be used.

The rake, so tar as its particular construction is considered, does not ditt'er materially from others in general use.

F is a lever which is attached to the bar D, said lever projecting backward in front ofthe drivers seat.

To the right-hand thill C', and just back of the bar D, an upright, H, is attached, and a -l lever, I, is titted in the. upper end ot' said upright. The lever I is of bent form, the part c being at right angles with the i'ront e. The part d is also bent, forming a part,f, which is parallel with the part e, and is connected to l the bar D by a link,g. The part e is titted on a pivot, li, in the upper end of upright H, and the lever is allowed a certain degree of lateral .play on said pivot, the hole through which the pivot passes being sut'ciently large for this To the outer side ot' the parte of the lever F a pin, fi, is attached, said pin projecting at right angles from the part c.

The operation is as follows: As the implement is drawn along the foot of the driver is placed upon the lever F, and the teeth c ofthe rake consequently kept down, so that their lower ends will be upon the ground, the hay, as the machine moves, collecting in the hollow of the teeth. The position of the rake when at work is shown in black. (See more particularly Fig. l.) W'hen the rake is full the driver removes his foot from the lever F and moves the outer end ot" the part e of the lever I toward the wheel B', and a spoke of said wheel will strike the pin 1'., and thereby elevate the inner parts, df, of lever I, and also the rake-teeth c, the hooks a being allowed to turn in the eyes b. (See red lines, Fig.l.) As the teeth e are elevated they of course pass over their load, or over the hay raked up by them, the hay being left in an oblong pile or row, as usual. I/Vhen the teeth c are t'ully elcvated the pin 't' is moved free from the spokes ot the wheel Bl in consequence ofthe outer end ot' the part e of the lever I bearing against an inclined har,j, attached to the thill C near its junction with the axle A. This will he understood by referring to Fig. 2. The rake-teeth are then mad-e to descend in consequence ot` the driver slightly elevating the outer end ot' lever I, or by placing his foot on lever F, which, when slightly moved, wiil turn the rake so that it will fall or descend hy its own gravity.

I do not claim broadly a rake so arranged as to swing and allow its teeth to be elevated that it niay deliver its load, for rakes thus arranged have been previously used; but,

Having thus described my invention, what I do claim as new, and desire to secure hy Letters Patent, is

Operating or raising the rake through the medium of the lever l, provided with the pin i, the wheel B', and the curved barj, arranged substantially as described.

L. A. G. BROWN.

Witnesses:

J. C. BATES, ADAM GILLIERAND. 

